PATIENTS have helped to fund a new liver disease research unit in the North-East.

The support group LIVErNORTH, which has a network of members throughout the Northern region who have suffered the disease, raised £25,000 to pay for a new laboratory and specialist equipment at Newcastle University.

This matched a £25,000 sponsorship sum raised by Professor Oliver James, provost of medical sciences at the university. The laboratories will be called the LIVErNORTH Laboratories.

In the UK, about one in ten people will have some form of liver disease at some point in their life. The condition is commonly associated with alcohol abuse, yet out of more than 100 types of liver disease, only two are alcohol-related and they are often due to a genetic quirk.

The university is already working on several leading scientific investigations into various types of liver disease. However, the new laboratory and its facilities, such as ventilated hoods, which allow tests to be carried out in a clean environment, will allow academics to carry out more detailed research that could lead to new treatments.

John Bedlington, chairman of LIVErNORTH, said: "I have no doubt, because of our research, that over the next few years we shall see some important changes in the way that liver disease is diagnosed and treated as well as a greater understanding of the way some liver diseases are contracted."

David Jones, professor of liver immunology and a consultant with Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We are extremely lucky in that we have a wonderfully dedicated and active patient support group within the North-East.

"This laboratory will enable us to carry out further research into some debilitating conditions, which will hopefully help us, one day, to improve the quality of life for the many people who suffer liver disease."